The world's population relies on wheat-based foods as a major source of essential energy. Wheat-based foods are a good source of nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fiber for humans, but most food applications use milled wheat as white or purified flour and some valuable nutritional components may be lost. While carbohydrates should be the body's major source of energy, diets rich in whole grain are recommended for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. This protective aspect of whole grain and the importance of whole grain food must be highlighted to ensure they form a significant part of the diet. The composition, structure, and special properties of the wheat grain have allowed the evolution of many unique food products worldwide.

Asian wheat flour noodles, which have relatively simple origins in China, have evolved into a vast array of types that vary in formulation, process, and quality characteristics. The various noodles types and manufacturing processes, and the effects of processing variables and raw materials on product quality, are discussed.

Sensory evaluation and instrumental methods for testing noodle quality are important for flour mill quality control and organizations involved in noodle research or the evaluation of new noodle wheat varieties. The preparation of noodles for sensory evaluation and subsequent instrumental testing that is related to visual and textural characteristics involves the incorporation of theory and the guidelines provided by experienced researchers in these areas.

Australia exports 75% of the wheat produced annually, and the Asian region is an important export market for Australian wheat. These markets require suitable quality grain for use in wheat-based products, so the understanding of wheat end products from an Asian consumer point of view is important. The major wheat quality requirements for char siew bao, a Chinese Guangdong-style steamed bun, were determined. The research 1) developed laboratory methods for the production and assessment of char siew bao using a scoring system; 2) optimized the new methods and compared the new methods with a traditional method; and 3) used the new validated methods in an investigation of the role of soft wheat quality on char siew bao. A sponge-and-dough method with 1 hr fermentation time was developed to establish a simplified laboratory method for char siew bao production. The screening experiments and response surface methodology experiments showed that water addition, sugar, and sponge mixing time were responsible for 69% of the variation in total score. Dough strength was the most important parameter affecting char siew bao quality, followed by flour swelling volume, protein content, and dough extensibility. Both protein and starch quality were important determinants of char siew bao quality.

Sensory evaluation showed panelists could detect small differences in gloss and translucency in boiled white salted noodles (WSN) but sensory evaluation requires significant resources. Methods for the measurement of noodle gloss and translucency in boiled WSN were developed and the effects of hardness, protein, water addition, and vacuum mixing on these visual sensory characteristics and color (as measured by CIE L*, a*, and b*) were investigated. Noodles derived from hard wheats at low flour protein contents were more translucent than noodles from soft wheat flour at low protein. This trend changed at the highest flour protein contents observed. Translucency of the soft wheat noodles increased to levels equal to or exceeding the translucency of high protein hard wheat noodles. Translucency of all noodle varieties increased as flour protein increased. CIE L* decreased, a* increased, and b* increased when water addition to dough increased from 30 to 35%, but there was no further effect on color when water addition was increased to > 35% for raw soft and hard WSN. Boiled noodle translucency was significantly increased when water addition to the dough was increased from 35 to 38% and when noodles made from soft wheat flour were mixed under vacuum. Vacuum mixing significantly increased gloss of boiled noodles made from soft wheat flours.

ABSTRACTSelection for starch quality is an important consideration in the breeding of wheat for Asian noodles, particularly Japanese udon, and the flour swelling volume (FSV) test was developed for this purpose. Near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis has also been a key tool in recent years in wheat quality selection. The development and validation of NIRS calibrations for the prediction of FSV on whole grain involved 22 cultivars and breeding lines grown at four locations in two seasons. Eight calibrations were developed, each based on samples from seven trials, with the eighth trial used for validation. Over the eight calibrations, r2 between predicted and actual values was 0.56–0.86 (mean 0.74) and the standard error of prediction (SEP) was 0.77–1.65 (mean 1.14) mL/g of dry meal. Separate calibrations were also developed for hard (n = 461), soft (n = 150), and soft+hard grain (n = 616), with standard errors of cross‐validation (SECV) of 1.03, 1.39, and 1.21 mL/g of dry meal, respectively. Corresponding r2 between predicted and actual values were 0.76, 0.78, and 0.76, respectively. Thus, NIRS offers good potential for the screening of early‐generation lines to identify those with high or low FSV.